Faster Insulin Action With Needle-Free Jet Injection

FRIDAY, July 15 (HealthDay News) -- Insulin administration by needle-free jet injector enhances insulin absorption and reduces the duration of glucose-lowering action more than with conventional pen administration, according to a study published online June 29 in Diabetes Care.

Elsemiek E.C. Engwerda, from the Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Center in the Netherlands, and colleagues compared the pharmacologic profile of insulin administered by jet injection with that administered with conventional pen injection in 18 healthy volunteers. Euglycemic glucose clamp tests were performed after administering 0.2 units/kg body weight of aspart analog of insulin subcutaneously. Pharmacodynamic profiles were derived from glucose infusion rate (GIR) needed to maintain euglycemia, and pharmacokinetic profiles from plasma insulin levels.

The investigators found that jet administration had significantly shorter average time to maximal GIR (51 versus 105 minutes), and significantly shorter average time to peak insulin concentration (31 versus 64 minutes) compared to conventional pen administration. The average peak insulin concentrations were significantly higher with jet injection than conventional pen injection (108 versus 79 mU/L). The time to 50 percent glucose disposal was significantly reduced (by approximately 40 minutes) when insulin was administered by jet injection. Maximal GIR, total insulin absorption, and total insulin action showed similar profiles for both devices.

"When insulin is administered with a jet injector instead of a conventional insulin pen, a more rapid onset of insulin action can be achieved. Insulin administered by the jet injector resembles the pattern of endogenous insulin secretion more closely," the authors write.